There are many wondrous, enigmatic and fascinating attractions on the Big Island of Hawaii, some better known than others, many out of the way and generally off the beaten track. Tour Guide Hawaii has produced an encyclopedic collection of the most up-to-date information, presented as short GPS-cued videos, in an app downloadable to iPhone and iPod Touch that covers the entire Big Island, highlighting the popular and the uncrowded, the famous and the secluded, the adventurous and the relaxing.

Halema’uma’u Crater Overlook

Mauna Loa behind Halema'uma'u Crater: Photo by Donald B MacGowan

Breathtaking, awe-inspiring, sacred. Clearly overcome with awe and wonder, when he visited Kilauea a century and a half ago, Mark Twain remarked aptly: “…here was room for the imagination to work!”

As if someone left the door to Hades ajar, Halema'uma'u as seen from Jagger Museum, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park: Photo by Donald B

A spectacular eruption has been underway in Halema’uma’u Crater since March 19, 2008. Because of this, Crater Rim Drive is closed at Jagger Museum and at the junction with Chain of Crater Road, so the Halema’uma’u Overlook is inaccessible. Great viewing of the eruption can be had from Jagger Museum; views of the ash cloud at night, lit up with the glow of molten rock from below the surface of Halema’uma’u, are particularly exciting. Please go here to learn more about this eruption.

The Hawai’ians revered the area around Halema’uma’u Crater as the home of the volcano Goddess, Madame Pele, who journeyed from Tahiti to Ni’ihau and Kau’ai before settling down at Halema’uma’u. For generations Hawai’ian Kahuna came here to divine the future, hold rituals, make sacrifices and appease the goddess with offerings. Commoners among the native Hawai’ians were not allowed within sight of the sacred grounds. Continuing into modern times on several ceremonial days each year (in times of eruptive quiescence), modern Hawai’ians gather on the crater floor to perform hula dances and other rituals to appease the goddess Pele.

Today, a large parking lot and several trailheads converge at the junction of the two crown jewels of Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park, Kilauea Caldera and inside it, the more recent center of eruptive activity, Halema’uma’u crater. Not many years ago, there was an active lava lake in Halema’uma’u Crater, which was first documented by Europeans in 1823 by William Ellis. Over the past 230-some years of recorded history, more the 20 major eruptions have taken place here.

New life clings to the edge of Halema'uma'u Crater, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park: Photo by Donald B MacGowan

In 1924 an explosive eruption shattered Halema’uma’u Crater, doubling its size and the lava lake drained. A spectacular fire-fountain eruption occurred inside Halema’uma’u in 1974, and the crater floor has risen and fallen a couple thousand feet over time from more than 1300 feet deep to over-flowing into Kilauea Crater.

Currently, Halema’uma’u Crater is a robust 300 feet deep and 3000 feet across; even so, it is almost lost inside the lager and deeper Kilauea Crater. Although covered with a hard crust of frozen lava, both craters still steam and smolder and the volcanic heat flowing up through them is still very evident, even on a hot day. A whiff of sulfurous gases emanating from the many steam vents is also evident to the modern visitor; a century and a half ago, Mark Twain commented: “…the smell of sulfur is strong, but not unpleasant to a sinner!”

Many natives, kama’aina and tourists alike pause here at the overlook to offer the goddess gifts of food, flowers, gin or feathers wrapped in leaves.

The easy, half mile walk around the overlook is well worth the thirty or so minutes it will take. This hike requires no special equipment or preparation. For a longer hike, taking off from the Halema’uma’u Trail at a bout ½ mile, the Byron Ledge Trail follows a ledge system above the crater floor 3 miles to the Devastation Trail and ultimately to Kilauea Iki Crater; this is best done as a car-shuttle hike. Another wonderful hike, though dry, hot and challenging, is the 3.5 mile trek across Kilauea Caldera leads back to the Volcano House, which takes 2 hours of steady hiking. These two latter trips require you to take plenty of water, rain gear, suncream, a map and compass (and the knowledge to use them), to wear sturdy hiking shoes or boots and to be in fairly good physical condition. As always when hiking in the Park, it is wise to avoid the noonday sun, and afternoon showers, particularly along the crater rims are common.

There are many wondrous, enigmatic and fascinating attractions on the Big Island of Hawaii, some better known than others, many out of the way and generally off the beaten track. Tour Guide Hawaii has produced an encyclopedic collection of the most up-to-date information, presented as short GPS-cued videos, in an app downloadable to iPhone and iPod Touch that covers the entire Big Island, highlighting the popular and the uncrowded, the famous and the secluded, the adventurous and the relaxing.

Waldron Ledge Overlook Hike

Frank Burgess along the way to Waldron Ledge Overlook, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park: Photo by Donald B MacGowan

A short, 20 minute-or-so hike on a section of Crater Rim Drive abandoned after an earthquake made the crater edge unstable. Strolling through lush fern and o’hia forest brings one to spectacular views of the Kilauea Caldera, Waldron Ledge and Pu’u Pai at the mouth of Kilauea Iki Crater. This hike is one of the few places where bicycles are allowed, and the generally shaded road makes for a pleasant, but short, ride or hike. This trail is a great way to get away from noise and traffic and experience the lush, high altitude fern forest firsthand.

Although beautiful, this kind of wild ginger is an invasive pest, Waldron Ledge at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park: Photo by Donald B MacGowan

The overlook at Waldron Ledge is a particularly spectacular place, perched on the edge of the vast wasteland of Kilauea Caldera. It’s a good place to observe the current eruption in Halema’uma’u, especially early in the morning when the rising sun lights up the eruption cloud, or in the evening when the setting sun shines through it.

There are many wondrous, enigmatic and fascinating attractions on the Big Island of Hawaii, some better known than others, many out of the way and generally off the beaten track. Tour Guide Hawaii has produced an encyclopedic collection of the most up-to-date information, presented as short GPS-cued videos, in an app downloadable to iPhone and iPod Touch that covers the entire Big Island, highlighting the popular and the uncrowded, the famous and the secluded, the adventurous and the relaxing.

A major fissure, or crack, extending across the volcano from its summit out to the coast and down to the sub-sea root of the volcano, the Southwest Rift crosses Crater Rim Drive in the vicinity of the HVO. It is worth the time to stop along the road here and check out this natural weakness, a fissure and vent that goes all the way to the heart of the volcano.

This roadside pullout is infamous for having been featured in an episode of the Discovery Channel television series “Man vs Wild”. Pretending to be dozens of miles in the forbidding volcanic backcountry of Kilauea, Bear Grylls leaps foolishly about the fissures like a gecko on crack, just a few meters from the roadway. In one scene you can actually see car traffic on the highway right behind him. Viewer outrage was so vehement at this obvious, and odious, fraud that the episode is no longer available on DVD.

A Lava flow that poured over the side of the open fissure at Southwest Rift, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park: Photo by Donald B MacGowan

NOTE: Currently The Southwest Rift is inaccessible, as a portion of Chain of Craters Road has been closed due to the current eruption in Halema’uma’u Crater.

There are many wondrous, enigmatic and fascinating attractions on the Big Island of Hawaii, some better known than others, many out of the way and generally off the beaten track. Tour Guide Hawaii has produced an encyclopedic collection of the most up-to-date information, presented as short GPS-cued videos, in an app downloadable to iPhone and iPod Touch that covers the entire Big Island, highlighting the popular and the uncrowded, the famous and the secluded, the adventurous and the relaxing.

Volcano Village

Volcano General Store, Ka'u Hawaii: Photo by Donald B MacGowan

Nestled picturesquely, though precariously, in the narrow saddle between the summits of two highly active volcanoes, Kilauea and Mauna Loa, Volcano Village dozes gently. The town is a green oasis of vineyards, homes, shops, restaurants, even a golf course to play and a winery to tour. Of course, there are a host of inns and bed and breakfast establishments here as well.

Although its position seems perilous, Volcano Village’s setting is actually fairly serene and protected from all but the most explosive of eruptions from Kilauea and Mauna Loa, and the prevailing trade winds keeps the town swept fairly free of vog, volcano smog. Lying amid at least four mini-climatic zones in Hawai’i’s peculiar compressed geography, half the Village is shaded by primeval fern trees unfurling in mountain mist in the 2-tiered, cloud jungle. The other half is guarded by scraggly ohi’a trees rising from the dry savannah grassland of the Ka’u Desert. The enchantment of discovery is what makes Volcano Village a magical and surreal place to visit.

The jungle on the wet side of Volcano Village, Ka'u Hawaii: Photo by Donald B MacGowan

Although purchases in Volcano Village tend to be spendy, the Village represents the only opportunity to buy gas, food and water on the 42-mile stretch between Pahala and Mountain View during the day. Be sure to top off your tank of gas and load up on food and water before venturing into Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Many people become quite entranced with the Park, spending a great deal more time and gasoline there than they had planned, and forgetting that there is little of anything available after dark on the south side of the island between Hilo and Kona.

There are many wondrous, enigmatic and fascinating attractions on the Big Island of Hawaii, some better known than others, many out of the way and generally off the beaten track. Tour Guide Hawaii has produced an encyclopedic collection of the most up-to-date information, presented as short GPS-cued videos, in an app downloadable to iPhone and iPod Touch that covers the entire Big Island, highlighting the popular and the uncrowded, the famous and the secluded, the adventurous and the relaxing.

The grand tradition of hosteling at the edge of Kilauea Volcano began with construction of the first Volcano House in 1846; as such, Volcano House is Hawai’i’s oldest continuously operated hotel. Famous Guests include Queen Liliuokalani, Samuel Clemens, Theodore Roosevelt and Elvis Presley.

Halema'uma'u Crater from the back door of Volcano House, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park: Photo by Donald B MacGowan

Since Polynesians first arrived in Hawai’i, temporary grass shacks had been constructed on the lip of Kilauea Crater to shelter kahuna and ali’i who went there to give praise and worship to Madame Pele. Chiefess Kapiolani, a converted Christian, had a grass hut constructed on the edge of the crater, then filled with a molten lava lake, in 1826 from which she and her retinue held ceremonies to denounce the goddess.

Benjamin Pitmann Sr. built a grass shack he named Volcano House as the first structure to serve solely for the sheltering of kama’aina and tourists visiting the volcano. In 1866, this structure was replaced with one of ohi’a poles and pili grass. American novelist and humorist Sam Clemens, who stayed at Volcano House in 1866 proclaimed: “The surprise of finding a good hotel at such as outlandish spot startled me, considerably more than the volcano did.”

In 1877 the first fully wooden Volcano House was built, which featured 6 rooms and a large parlor with a fireplace. This building is now being used as the Volcano Art Center and was moved to its present location in 1941. Although the hotel has continued to grow and change over the years, the fire in Volcano House fireplace has burned continuously for more than 130 years. In 1940 most of the hotel was destroyed in a boiler fire and Uncle George Lycurgus built the structure that stands as the current hotel in 1941 of wood and stone.

View along the sulfur banks to Volcano House, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park: Photo by Donnie MacGowan

A tour of the Volcano House and small museum should include the parlor with its koa piano, paintings and welcoming fireplace, the restaurant (the only food available in the Park) and the two gift shops as well as the breath-taking view of Kilauea Crater from the back lanai of the main building.

There are many wondrous, enigmatic and fascinating attractions on the Big Island of Hawaii, some better known than others, many out of the way and generally off the beaten track. Tour Guide Hawaii has produced an encyclopedic collection of the most up-to-date information, presented as short GPS-cued videos, in an app downloadable to iPhone and iPod Touch that covers the entire Big Island, highlighting the popular and the uncrowded, the famous and the secluded, the adventurous and the relaxing.

A National Park may seem an incongruous place for a world-class art gallery, but the Volcano Art Center has perhaps the best collection of art for sale in the State of Hawai’i. The Volcano Art Center, originally built in 1877 as the Volcano House Inn and moved to its present location in 1941, is itself an exquisite work of art, built of ohi’a and koa woods.

Volcano Art Center in and of itself is a work of art, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park: Photo by Donald B MacGowan

Inside you will find many one-of-a-kind works in all media: oil, pottery, metal, watercolor, glass, wood, jewelry, you name it. The Center also offers programs of dance, theater and music, as well as providing workshop and studio space to artists in residence. It’s a great place to come and browse, see what is going on in the fascinating world of Hawai’ian Art.

Many types of art are for sale in the Volcano Art Center, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park: Photo by Donald B MacGowan

There are many wondrous, enigmatic and fascinating attractions on the Big Island of Hawaii, some better known than others, many out of the way and generally off the beaten track. Tour Guide Hawaii has produced an encyclopedic collection of the most up-to-date information, presented as short GPS-cued videos, in an app downloadable to iPhone and iPod Touch that covers the entire Big Island, highlighting the popular and the uncrowded, the famous and the secluded, the adventurous and the relaxing.

Sulfur Banks/Steam Vents

View along the sulfur banks to Volcano House, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park: Photo by Donnie MacGowan

Sulfur Banks, on the crater side of the road, is just one of hundreds of gas seeps on the flanks of the Kilauea summit crater spewing hydrogen sulfide, sulfur dioxide, carbon dioxide and steam. Hematite, native sulfur and gypsum minerals precipitate out of the gas flux streaming through the rocks, making colorful splashes on the outcrops. Children and people with heat or respiratory conditions, or anybody with a weak stomach should be wary of venturing down the road to see this.

Non-sulfurous steam vents, mostly across the road from the crater and at the aptly named Steaming Bluff, result from rainwater percolating down through the ground being boiled by the hot rock beneath and streaming up vents to the surface. There is a short walk to the Steaming Bluff from the Sulfur Banks parking area which comes to a breathtaking view of the crater and more productive steam vents.

Looking past Steaming Bluff at the many steam vents in Kilauea Caldera to the eruption in Halema'uma'u Crater, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park:

Panoramic views of Kilauea Caldera and the Halema’uma’u Crater from the edge of the Sulfur Banks reveal other, numerous steam vents on the floor of the crater. Views of the current eruption in Halema’uma’u Crater are unsurpassed from this overlook…especially at night.

Gazing into the pit of the volcano, a steam vent at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park: Photo by Donald B MacGowan

There are many wondrous, enigmatic and fascinating attractions on the Big Island of Hawaii, some better known than others, many out of the way and generally off the beaten track. Tour Guide Hawaii has produced an encyclopedic collection of the most up-to-date information, presented as short GPS-cued videos, in an app downloadable to iPhone and iPod Touch that covers the entire Big Island, highlighting the popular and the uncrowded, the famous and the secluded, the adventurous and the relaxing.

Along the side of the centuries-old Ka’u-Puna trail, worn smooth by generations of travelers, in the area of the Hill of Long Life (Pu’u Loa), lies the largest petroglyph field in Polynesia. It is estimated that the Pu’u Loa field contains in excess of 15,000 carvings. A one mile segment of this ancient trail, from the parking lot along the Chain of Craters Road to the petroglyphs, has been marked with cairns (or “ahu”) by the Park staff to lead visitors to the petroglyphs. As you hike along this trail, notice the smoothness of the lava, the sheen on the trail worn by generations of travelers’ feet.

There are many theories concerning the origin and meanings of these carvings but one thing is certain. People stopped here for hundreds of years and left their mark on the stone. Among the designs are simple holes, spirals, concentric circles, human forms and others which are unrecognizable, geometric shapes. The hills and swales of pahoehoe surrounding the boardwalk contain thousands more petroglyphs, but due to their fragility, you are advised to remain on the boardwalk to keep from damaging them.

Pu’u Loa, the hill at the margin of the boardwalk, is the place where Hawai’ians came to bury the umbilical chord (“piko”) of their children. People came from all over the Hawai’ian Islands to bury their child’s piko in this place of “mana” (Hawai’ian for power), the home of the Goddess Pele. Grinding out a cup-shaped hole, the Hawai’ians would place the piko in the ground to insure long life, and good grace from the Goddess, for their child.

Remember that these carvings, though many hundreds of years old, are extremely fragile so remain on the boardwalk—do not step into the petroglyph field, even for a better view, or onto the carvings themselves. The boardwalk passes by hundreds of carvings near enough for you to examine them minutely and photograph the completely. This self-guided tour takes about 1 hour. Please do not litter or deface the carvings, taking rubbings is not allowed nor is making casts.

There are many wondrous, enigmatic and fascinating attractions on the Big Island of Hawaii, some better known than others, many out of the way and generally off the beaten track. Tour Guide Hawaii has produced an encyclopedic collection of the most up-to-date information, presented as short GPS-cued videos, in an app downloadable to iPhone and iPod Touch that covers the entire Big Island, highlighting the popular and the uncrowded, the famous and the secluded, the adventurous and the relaxing.

600 feet wide and almost 500 feet deep, Puhimau Crater shows the typical morphology of a collapse structure that has not been invaded by post-collapse lavas. Notice how all the debris associated with this crater seems to point downward into the bottom of the crater; several talus cones run down the slope and there is no material stacked or scattered around the rim of the crater that is suggestive of eruptive or explosive events.

One can see exposed on the walls of the crater numerous pre-collapse lava flows that were truncated during the collapse. Obviously there is still molten rock close to the surface below this crater; one can generally see steam rising from numerous seeps. These steam seeps provide an oasis of moisture in the desert and lush steam gardens surround them.

Pu'u Pua'i and the eruption of Halema'uma'u, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park: Graphic from Photo by Donald B MacGowan

There are many wondrous, enigmatic and fascinating attractions on the Big Island of Hawaii, some better known than others, many out of the way and generally off the beaten track. Tour Guide Hawaii has produced an encyclopedic collection of the most up-to-date information, presented as short GPS-cued videos, in an app downloadable to iPhone and iPod Touch that covers the entire Big Island, highlighting the popular and the uncrowded, the famous and the secluded, the adventurous and the relaxing.

Pu’u Pua’i, which means “gushing hill”, is a cinder cone perched atop the rim of Kilauea Iki. At Pu’u Pua’i Overlook an incredible view of Kilauea Iki, which means “Little Kilauea” spreads beneath you. Eruptions of Kilauea Iki in 1959 followed almost a century of quiescence and produced fire fountains exceeding 1900 feet—the highest on record anywhere. The overall eruption proceeded in “spurts” of activity—brief eruptive events separated by times of quiet–which produced enough lava and airfall material to bury a football field 15 inches deep every hour (about two million tons of lava per hour). However, in between eruptions the lava drained back into the vent, only to be ejected again and again over the 36 day life of the eruption.

Today, the mile-wide cooled and solid surface of the lava lake, tucked 400 feet below the crater rim, is cracked and undulating, pocked and tiled in tilted pahoehoe blocks, issues steam from many vents. Crossing the crater floor on this surface provides one of the most interesting hikes in the Park. Looking up from the bottom of the crater, one can see the distinctive “ring around the crater” marking the high point of the lava lake during the last eruption. Hot, liquid rock still roils only a few hundred feet below the hardened modern surface of the crater floor.

Distances are difficult to comprehend here, unless you see hikers on the trail, across the rim or on the crater floor for scale. Once you have an idea of the magnitude of this crater, bear in mind that the fire fountains in the 1959 eruptions, at their peak, reached about four times the height of the current crater walls.

It is both extremely unsafe and ecologically unsound to visit the actual summit of Pu’u Pua’i. The entire Devastation Trail area is an outdoor laboratory in forest regeneration after the devastating burial in hot air fall material. Please stay on designated trails and do not wander out across the cinder landscape; you will destroy delicate plant life and interrupt soil-forming process, disturbing the natural laboratory.

For more information on Kilauea Iki, please go here; for information on hiking the Kilauea Iki trail, please go here; for information on the Devastation Trail area adjacent to Pu’u Pua’i, please go here.